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Big competition for big donations in Vancouver

Vancouver Art Gallery among many campaigns seeking financial generosity from major donors

View of parking lot at corner of Cambie and Georgia Streets in Vancouver, BC Tuesday, April 23, 2013. The lot is a proposed location for the construction of the new Vancouver art gallery.

Photograph by: Jason Payne
, VANCOUVER SUN

When the Vancouver Art Gallery eventually rolls out its multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign in support of a new, state-of-the-art facility downtown, they will be up against some serious competition.

There are already several big-money capital campaigns underway in the city, each of them working hard to convince big-hearted millionaires, from corporate giants to family philanthropists, that their cause is the most worthy of financial support.

It’s no cake walk, no matter who you represent, says Debora Sweeney, vice-president and chief strategy officer with the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, which is nearing the end of an exhausting five-year campaign to raise $200 million to build a new children’s hospital in Vancouver and broaden patient access to pediatric services provincewide.

The foundation has found success tapping the generosity of the likes of the Milan and Maureen Ilich Foundation, and Daniel and Henrik Sedin of the Canucks. But it remains about $30 million shy of its goal.

The reality is, Sweeney said, that there are only so many people who have the capacity to make the really big gifts.

“And, as you can imagine, there would be a number of organizations that are hoping that (donors) might look favourably on their initiative,” she said.

The VAG isn’t blind to the challenges of fundraising in British Columbia.

Gallery executives have banked on raising at least one-third of the anticipated $300 million it will need for a new home in downtown Vancouver through private donations. The gallery is relying on the federal and provincial governments for the remainder of the money.

Critics have been openly skeptical of the plan, believing it to be too big a capital project for Vancouver, and a potential drain on corporate donors and taxpayers alike.

But VAG director Kathleen Bartels has repeatedly said she is confident the money is out there, adding that the gallery will look to Toronto and Asia if it can’t find the necessary dollars closer to home.

“If someone wanted to come forward and give us $50 million for an Asian wing (of the new gallery), we would certainly be interested in entering into that discussion as these campaigns get going,” Bartels said during a meeting with Vancouver’s mayor and council earlier this week.

Several prominent members of the local art community have also voiced their belief in the financial feasibility of the proposal, among them Michael Audain and Michael O’Brian, both leading collectors who have shown a willingness in the past to be generous with their own money.

Both men were notably present on Wednesday at Vancouver City Hall when the mayor and council agreed to lease a portion of city-owned land downtown for the construction of a new gallery.

“There is always a question of money,” O’Brian said in an interview following council’s unanimous vote — a political decision viewed by VAG supporters as nothing short of historic.

But, like Bartels, he is certain the project is “absolutely” doable. “I think it will be surprising who is going to step up to the table,” O’Brian said.

Audain said the project’s success cannot rest solely on the support of art lovers, but “people who love and care about Vancouver and, like many of us, would not want to live anywhere else in the world.”

Sweeney said the Children’s Hospital Foundation has attracted more than 50,000 individual donors to date. Most donations, about 35,000, are less than $10,000.

The foundation has received another 300 contributions of between $10,000 and $100,000, and 40 in excess of $1 million. Top donors to the project include Teck Cominco Ltd. ($25 million) and Overwaitea Foods ($20 million).

Sweeney said grassroots support is essential to a project’s success, but it takes the big donations to cross the finish line.

“If you think about it, if a whole bunch of people are giving $50, it will take a lot to make up a campaign of that magnitude. You have to have the major donor support,” she said.

The Children’s Hospital is one of several significant fundraising drives currently on the go in B.C.

The Vancouver General Hospital and University of BC Hospital Foundation is wrapping up its campaign to build a new $82-million mental health centre at West 10th and Willow. The province has committed $57 million to the project. Recently, the foundation announced it was still about $10 million short of its goal, and launched a public appeal for donations.

Meanwhile, Ronald McDonald House BC is also looking to raise $31.2 million to construct a new facility that will house seriously ill children and their families.

There were more than 12,000 registered charities in the province in 2012, from big foundations to neighbourhood churches.

A handful of big charities play a disproportionate role in the sector.

According to the Toronto-based research firm Charity Intelligence, B.C.’s 20 largest charities receive nearly $800 million a year in donations, the equivalent of about 37 per cent of all the money British Columbians give to charity.

Under the terms of its agreement with the city, the VAG must secure federal and provincial funding by April 30, 2015, and have 75 per cent of the project’s total capital costs committed before any construction can begin.

The VAG already has $50 million from the province held in a restricted building fund, and another $40 million promised from private-sector donors.

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